This invention relates to apparatus and method for receiving particulate material, miscible material, and the like and conveying it, using endless belts, to a deposit site. In particular, the invention relates to a system for forming endless belts into a material carrying, moving enclosure with quantity delivery control capabilities.
Apparatus and processes for automatic filling containers such as cans or jars with both food and non-food products are well-known in the art, having become quite sophisticated for particular types and consistencies of products. An example of such sophisticated apparatus for precisely metering the amount of flowable material deposited in containers is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,622.
Apparatus and methods disclosed and used in the prior art have generally been acceptable when used in filling containers with flowable material, such as liquid or pasty products, but apparatus and methods for filling containers with more solid or particulate products have generally had significant drawbacks. Part of the problem is in moving the solid or particulate product from a receiving location to a discharge or dosing location without clogging the passageway, losing the product, or experiencing wide variations in the volume and speed of product delivered. For example, delivery of grains, small or chopped vegetables and fruits, and soft noodles and spaghetti-like products can be difficult to deliver to a container filling station because such product, among other things, tends to bunch together and in some cases cling to the conveying apparatus. This is especially true if the particulate product is of non-uniform size.